Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Innes hummed to herself as they rode back towards the Keep, in time with the beat of the horses’ hooves below.
The papers had been signed, the trader from Inverness would soon be bringing his wares to the Keep, and Innes had tucked one of the violets from the beautiful bouquet that her husband had brought her into her hair, the scent of it rising through her senses with every breath.
It was hard to imagine, if she were to be honest, that anything could have been better.
She slipped her hand a little higher on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart beneath her fingertips.
She could have sworn she saw him smile out of the corner of her eye, he knew exactly what he was doing.
She could hardly wait to have him alone again, though she supposed it would be a while till they arrived back at the Keep…
But, just as they reached the fork of the road that would guide them back towards their home, Lachlan drew the horse to a halt. A little ahead of him, Keith noticed that the Laird had fallen back and cast a glance over his shoulder in confusion.
“You go on ahead,” Lachlan called to him. “And tell the cook not to wait fer us. We’ll be a while.”
Keith gave him a slightly surprised look but nodded before taking off back up towards the Keep. Innes shifted slightly in the saddle, bringing her mouth just a few inches from his ear.
“And where exactly are you whisking me off to, my Laird?”
“That would ruin the surprise,” he shot a grin back at her before he dug his heels into the sides of his horse and started along the other road that led along the hill.
And just like that, the two of them were alone together; even though they were still on the road, something seemed to have shifted between them now that it was just the two of them.
The sound of hooves, a drumbeat that matched with that of her heart.
She laid her head against his back and closed her eyes, letting the air wash over her, allowing herself to trust that wherever it was he was taking her, it would be a wonderful sight
Soon enough, the scent of the violet in her hair was overwhelmed with the sweet perfume of heather drifting from the hills. She opened her eyes to find that they had returned to the hill that he had brought her to before, the waves of heather rippling in gold and royal purple before them.
As he slowed the horse, taking her to the very same spot that they had attended the last time, she could not help but smile.
“What are we doing here?” she asked, his hands around her waist as he brought her to the ground.
“We didnae get to enjoy it last time,” he murmured. “What with… all that happened.”
She felt a twist in her heart at the memory of it, how the two of them had fought when they had been alone together. This place clearly meant a lot to him, and she was worried that she had stained it with the memory of their disagreement here.
“I’m sorry I didnae appreciate it the first time.”
“Ye’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he declared firmly, as he reached for a leather satchel that hung from the side of the saddle.
Breaking it open, he withdrew a blanket, along with a small flask of ale and some bread and cheese. As he carefully laid it out on the ground below, she pressed her lips together, a bubble of happiness rising up within her.
“When did you have time to plan all this?” she asked as he poured them both a cup of ale.
“When you were admiring every flower in the market,” he teased, holding his hand out.
She took the cup and brought it to her lips, and he reached out to tuck the violet behind her ear. His fingertips, even the barest graze of them, were enough to distract her from the meal at hand.
“Here, eat,” he told her, gesturing to the bread before them.
“I suppose I’ll have to, given that you told the cook not to wait fer us,” she joked, sinking down onto the blanket beside him.
Before them, the sun had begun to sit low in the sky, casting those gold-red rays across the hill before them.
It looked, to her, as though they might have been the only people left in the world.
Tearing off a piece of bread, she popped it in her mouth, finding her appetite rather dimmed by the thought of all else she was hungry for.
“What? You’d rather I had brought her out here to cook fer us?” he laughed. “I’m no’ sure what she could have done, so far from her kitchen.”
“She’s a fine cook,” she retorted. “I’m sure she’d have found some way to cook eggs on a warm rock or something of the kind.”
He chuckled again. She was starting to get used to the sound of his laughter, and the thought made her happy.
That she made him happy. When he had first taken her as a bride, she had imagined herself as nothing more than a way to get back at her brother, but now, she could see it for what it was.
Something pure and sure, something as certain as he was.
“Well, you can be the one to propose the idea to her,” he added. “Though I’d like to see the look on her face when you do.”
The two of them moved between comfortable silence and teasing laughter as they ate and drank together.
A far cry from the first time that they had come to this place together.
It was as if the scales had been lifted from her eyes, and she could see him and his intentions for what they truly were.
She only wished that she had been able to come to terms with them rather sooner than she had.
As she sipped on the last of her ale, she noticed him watching her. Not just looking at her, but watching her, as if there was something there he wished not to forget.
“What is it?” she asked him, feeling heat rise to her cheeks, though she was quite sure she could already tell what was going through his mind. “Ye’re looking at me as though I’m a meal you havenae had a chance to finish.”
His smile spread wide as he shifted closer to her, his arm resting around her waist where he lay beside her on the blanket.
“Aye,” he answered. “I had rather hoped that you would serve as dessert, dear wife.”
He moved to kiss her, but, as soon as their lips met, they melded into one another, as she had been waiting for all day.
She was not sure if she would ever have enough of him like this, so eager for her, so wanting.
The knowledge that he was choosing her, that his want for her was so naked in its desire, thrilled her in ways she had not known possible.
He moved on top of her, his body pinning her to the blanket, even though they couldn’t have been more than a few dozen yards from the path.
His hand slipped down between her thighs, working its way beneath her dress with ease as his tongue parted her lips. And, even as the desire began to work its magic on her, she drew back, gazing into his eyes and biting her lip.
“What if someone rides by and sees us?”
He shook his head, tracing a finger along her cheek.
“I’m the Laird of this place, Innes,” he reminded her. “And if I want to make love to my wife on top of a hill where the whole county can see me…”
He kissed her, hard, possessive.
“Then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
He moved his fingers inside of her as his tongue entered her mouth once more, and she was so overwhelmed by the intensity of his need for her that all protests fell away at once.
The thought that he would be willing to risk so much just to have her, risk being caught in such a scandalous position, served to intensify the need within her.
No man had ever wanted her the way he did, taking her where anyone could see them, not caring who knew about the depths of his wanton desire.
She gasped as she felt his fingers move within her, her body opening to him like the petals of the flowers he had brought for her.
“Hell, Innes, yer little noises undo me. I’ve been waiting fer this moment since we climbed on the horse.”
She could feel the firmness of his manhood already stirring. The thought of him picturing this, imagining the moment he could lay his hands on her like this, only pushed her further into his arms.
“Make me yers. Dinnae stop, Lachlan.”
She wrapped herself around him, her hips lifted to make his access easier, silently willing him to take her there on the blanket amongst the rolling hills of heather that surrounded them.
“Wife,” he muttered, lips carving out the shape of the words against her mouth. “You should have told me how much you wanted this. I wouldnae have waited so long to get you alone.”
She could only let out a wanting groan against his lips as he withdrew his hand from her skirts and pulled his kilt aside.
Catching a glimpse of him beneath the heavy fabric of his family tartan, she shifted herself closer to him as he positioned himself between her legs.
His hand ran appreciatively along the curve of her waist and the arch of her back as he brought himself to her entrance.
And, without another moment to waste, he moved inside of her.
“Lachlan!” she cried out so loudly she wouldn’t have been surprised if everyone back at the Keep had heard her.
How could she care when this man wanted her as badly as he did? There was no high like it, no thrill like knowing he craved her and her alone.
“That’s it, lass,” he encouraged as he moved down on top of her, wrapping his arms around her so their bodies could tangle entirely. “Let me hear how much you want me.”
She slipped her hands to the small of his back, suddenly craving even more, pressing him deeper within her like their bodies could not stand to be an inch apart for another second.
He took the cue, moving into her deep and slow, his hands grasping her back to steady her as she gasped at the new sensations.
The cool air flowed across her bare thighs, but instead of feeling exposed, she felt… open. Open in ways she never had before, like every part of her had been laid bare in front of him, but she would be safe gifting him with such knowledge.
He brought his lips to her neck, brushing his mouth along her throat softly, letting his teeth snare against her skin for an instant, and she grasped his hair to pull him back to her lips.
She needed to kiss him, to speak in that secret language that only the two of them could come close to understanding, as he moved within her.
The slow, steady pace of his body was starting to stir something before she could stop it.
Not that she wanted to, and not that he seemed to have any intention of holding back now that he had her where he wanted her. The sounds that came from deep within his throat flowed deep into her, drinking up the very pleasure that was brewing in his body.
She wrapped her ankles around his thighs, drawing him in even deeper. She wasn’t sure their bodies could be any closer, but she wanted to find out, wanted to know if there was something she could do to close the gap that still existed between their separate forms.
And, as the wind trailed its fingers over the hills of heather around them, they made love on the hill, on a blanket tossed down over the earth below, so close to nature it felt they must have been a part of it themselves.
And what could have come more naturally to her than this, than letting herself be with the man she loved?
The thought of it, of how much he adored her, how much he cared for her, how long he had waited to have her like this.
It built to a peak within her until she was grasping at him desperately for something to cling to.
“Heavens, Lachlan!”
When she reached her release, her cry echoed down the hills around them.
If there were any riders on these roads, they would not have been able to ignore it.
But she couldn’t find it in her to care, as her body finally softened against his, the pleasure that she had needed spinning through every inch of her at once.
He kissed her again as she moved over the edge, drinking in her pleasure, and, a few moments later, she felt him finish inside her, driving himself one last time within her like he never intended to pull back.
“Ye have bewitched me, Innes. How can I ever get enough of ye?”
Smoothing his hand over her hair, he stared down at her, and once she had managed to gather herself enough, her eyes found his. And there was such softness there, in the way he looked at her, that a swell of emotion threatened to rise and take her over entirely.
She managed to kiss him again before it did, their bodies still entangled in the most intimate way. He pressed his forehead to hers for a moment before he spoke, as though he, too, was overwhelmed with all of it.
“I dinnae ken about you, lass,” he sighed. “But I think I might finally be sated.”
“For today, at least,” she teased, and he laughed, pulling her on top of him as he went to kiss her once more.
And, in the late afternoon light, she could have sworn there was nothing better in the world than this man, than this moment.